Unfazed by the Covid-19 difficulties, the Vivekananda Pathak Manch continued its annual literary mission this year by organising literary tests among the children and held its prize distribution and felicitation programmes recently.
While the tests were conducted both online, over 200 school going children from across the State participated with great enthusiasm. Organised by Manch convener Prof Rabindra Kumar Nayak at the Japidas High School, Nuarampas, Keonjhar, the event had distinguished educationists and literature lovers as guests like Gangadhar Puhan, Dambarudhar Dehury, Santosh Patnaik and Narendra Prasad Behera. Those who gave their vedio messages on the occasion included novelist and satirist Ariya Gyanadatta, writer and critic Prof Dipti Ranjan Pattanayak, poet Umakant Rout, Chittaranjan Nayak, Sampriti Satabhisa, Padmanav Nayak, Sisir Kumar Panigrahy, Rashmikant Barik, Ranjan Kumar Mohanty and Sarita Samal.
The guests praised the efforts of the Pathak Manch for continuing the literary campaign for the last 16 years for encouraging creativity and reading habit in Odia literature among school children. The successful participants like Soumya Ranjan Chaini, Laxmipriya Samal and Rupali Sahu were given trophies and citations. Also the highest scorer in the last year HSC exam in Japidas High School Prakash Kumar Dhal was felicitated and given cash prize. Among others, Manch workers Ratnakar Roul, Abhimanyu Sahu, Sarada Prasanna Jena, Pitambar Ayach, Akhaya Kumar Jena, Urmmi Uttakilka, Subhashree Tannnima, Bhagirathi Senapati, Bitihotra Nayak, Bhabani Sankar Nayak and Sushil Subhadeep Nayak coordinated the event.